


Checking In (On You)

by KitKatWinchester



Series: Comfortember 2020 [2]
Category: Marvel, X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27404095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKatWinchester/pseuds/KitKatWinchester
Summary: It's been three months since Alex left home, and Scott and Liv are still struggling to deal with this missing piece in their life.Luckily, they still have each other, and even if he isn't there with them, Alex will always have their back.
Relationships: Alex Summers & Original Character, Alex Summers & Scott Summers, Scott Summers & Original Character
Series: Comfortember 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997209
Kudos: 5
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	Checking In (On You)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> This is my story for Comfortember Days 3, 4, and 5: Nightmare, Anxiety, and Cuddling. It was initially supposed to just be for Day 3, but then I kind of accidentally incorporated elements of anxiety and cuddling, so now I'm just counting it for all three days. XD 
> 
> For this one, I decided to write a story using my OC from my new multi-chapter story, which I know is a little risky, since she's a brand new character for people. But if you wanna know more about her, you can always ask me. Otherwise, you can go subscribe to my current fic about her, [The Diamond Girl.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27342055/chapters/66806077) :) 
> 
> I hope you all like this story! I look forward to posting Day 6 tomorrow!

Scott knows he should be sleeping. 

He’s been staring at his ceiling for what feels like forever, but has probably only been a few hours. 

He can’t stop thinking about Alex. 

He knows his brother’s fine. Alex calls to check in all the time, and he always seems to be having a good time, but something about the whole situation just feels...off, and Scott can’t put his finger on it.

So he continues staring at his ceiling, trying to put the pieces together. 

But he doesn’t get anywhere. 

Eventually, he sighs, rolling over to one side, hoping he’ll be able to get some sleep. Just as he’s starting to doze off, though, he hears something in the other room. His eyes shoot open, and he sits up, listening. Sure enough, through their shared wall, he can hear small noises coming from his sister. He strains his hearing, and when he does, he realizes that those aren’t just noises. She sounds like she’s... _ crying?  _

Instinctively, Scott jumps out of bed, feet landing hard on the ground before he remembers it’s the middle of the night. He collects himself, tiptoeing to his door before opening it slowly, wincing when it creaks. Once it’s open enough for him to squeeze through, he sneaks his way out, taking the few steps he needs to get to Liv’s door. He knocks lightly, calling her name, but when she doesn’t answer, he turns the knob carefully, stepping into her room. 

“Olivia?” he whispers, approaching her figure on the bed as quietly as he can. As he gets closer, he can tell that she’s still sleeping, but she’s definitely upset.  _ She must be having a nightmare.  _

He makes his way over to the bed, bending down to put a hand on her shoulder and shake her gently, repeating her name. She doesn’t wake up right away, but her cries get a little louder, and Scott shakes her harder, putting both hands on her shoulders. 

“Liv, wake up!” he practically shouts, and his younger sister finally responds, jolting awake and turning to him with wide eyes. 

“Sc--Scott?” she stumbles out, staring at him. “What, uh…” Scott can hear how labored her breathing is, and he looks at her sympathetically as she continues. “What are you uh...what are you doing? In my room?” 

“Checkin’ in on ya,” he says lightly, giving his sister a smile. His face turns more serious, though, when she doesn’t return it. “You okay?” Liv stares at him for several seconds, but eventually, she nods her head yes. However, Scott doesn’t let up, giving her a look, and eventually, she shakes her head no, and Scott can see more tears slowly building up in her eyes. 

“Hey…” he starts gently, putting a hand on her arm and rubbing it lightly. “What is it?” She just shakes her head again before looking towards the ground, and Scott sighs, glancing around the room a little before standing up straight. 

“Scoot over,” he demands, and Liv looks up to give him a confused look. 

“What?” she asks, her voice cracking just a little. 

“I said, scoot over,” he repeats, and this time, Liv actually rolls her eyes, which makes Scott smile a little. 

“I’m not a baby,” Liv argues, but nonetheless, she does what he asks, scooting over and making room for him in her bed. Scott climbs in, and as he tucks himself under the covers with her, she tucks herself into his side, sliding under his arm. Scott laughs a little, teasing her. 

“I thought you weren’t a baby.” 

“I’m not,” she quips back, but she doesn't extract herself, instead grabbing onto him even tighter. They’re silent for several seconds, holding each other, until Scott decides to speak up again. 

“Do you wanna tell me about it?” 

He feels her tense underneath him, but he waits, knowing that, despite her hesitation, she’ll want to in the end. 

Sure enough, after a few minutes, she speaks up, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I’m worried something bad will happen to him.” She doesn’t have to clarify--Scott knows exactly who she’s talking about. 

“It won’t,” Scott replies, tightening his grip around her. “I mean, he’s almost eighteen, right? He’ll be fine.” He can tell Liv’s nodding a little against his side, but her tension doesn’t release at all. “Was that what your dream was about?” He can tell she’s hesitating again, but eventually, he feels that same nod against his side. He sighs a little, trying not to let his own worry get to him. 

He gets it. He’s been having the same issues. 

The thing is, they both know Alex can handle himself. And, like Scott had said, he  _ is  _ almost eighteen. It’s not like they have any reason to think he’s actually in danger. 

But for some reason, Alex has yet to come home, and that’s been bothering him. 

He hadn’t realized just how much it was bothering Liv too. 

“How about we call him?” Scott eventually offers. “Just to check.” Liv pulls away enough to look up at him, confusion etched on her face. 

“But it’s the middle of the night,” she responds tentatively. “Wouldn’t that bother him?” Scott smiles fondly at the reaction. Despite her stress and concern, she’ll always be more worried about his well-being than about making herself feel better. 

“Well, maybe, but it’s us, so he’ll appreciate it,” Scott assures her, releasing his hold and looking around for his sister’s phone. 

In all honesty, Scott doesn’t know if that’s true--calling Alex may very well bother him. But he also can’t help but be bitter that Alex hasn’t really given them answers.  _ If he’s gonna be like that about it, then he needs to be there when we need him.  _

Finding Liv’s phone on her nightstand, he picks it up, swiping and putting in her password. 

“How do you know my password?” Liv questions. 

“Big brother instincts,” he responds, smirking, but Liv just glares at him, and he chuckles a little as he dials Alex’s number, putting the phone on speaker. 

Their brother picks up almost immediately. 

“Liv?” he mumbles out, sounding groggy, which makes Scott suspect that they did, in fact, wake him up. However, the tension visibly releases from Liv’s body the second Alex’s voice comes through the phone, so Scott figures this was probably worth it. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” 

Scott opens his mouth to answer, but Liv beats him to it. 

“Nothing,” she says quickly, and Scott looks over at her, frowning a little bit. She shakes her head vigorously, eyes pleading with him. Clearly, she doesn’t want Alex to know what just happened. His frown deepens, scoldingly, but she shakes her head again before she continues. “I was just, uh...checking in. Scott’s here too.” She looks at him, eyes still holding that pleading look, and despite how much he doesn’t like the idea of keeping her distress from Alex, Scott sighs and obliges.

“Yep. Just checkin’ in.” There’s a long pause from the other end of the line, and for a second, Scott is worried that Alex fell back asleep. 

“You’re checking in…” Alex finally repeats slowly, sounding much more awake now. “At three in the morning?” Scott looks over at the time.  _ Oops.  _ He hadn’t really realized what time it was. 

“Uh…” he hesitates, trying to come up with an excuse, but he doesn’t have anything. “Yes?” he eventually says, cringing a little internally.  _ Oh well. What’s Alex gonna do, really?  _

There’s another long pause, and Scott exchanges glances with his sister, but eventually, Alex speaks up again. 

“Okay,” he responds, hesitantly. “Well...I’m good. Just, ya know...been working hard on school.”  _ See, there it is,  _ Scott thinks to himself.  _ The way he said that...something’s off.  _ Liv doesn’t seem to pick up on it, though, because she’s sitting up fully now, and seems way more relaxed than she was a few seconds ago. 

“How’s school going?” she asks, and she sounds so excited about it, just like she is any time they talk to him, and Scott smiles fondly. 

“It’s good,” Alex responds, and there’s a smile in his voice. Scott can only imagine he’s thinking the same thing. “We had this really great psychology discussion the other day. You would’ve loved it.” Liv’s smile grows, and she giggles a little. 

“I miss you,” she says, suddenly sounding so much younger than she is. “Will you be able to come home soon?” 

Another long pause, and Scott looks over at Liv, concerned. 

“I’m gonna try,” Alex eventually says, and Scott can hear the regret in his voice. “But it’s hard, ya know? But I’ll do my best. I promise.” Scott looks over at Liv, worried she’ll be disappointed, but she doesn’t seem fazed, and he sighs a little in relief. 

“Hey,” Alex cuts in again before either of them can say anything else. “I appreciate the check-in, but we should probably all get some sleep, okay?” Liv frowns and looks over at Scott, hoping for a different answer, but Scott shakes his head and shrugs, mouthing a “he’s right”. She frowns more, but eventually sighs. 

“Okay,” she concedes. “Can we talk again tomorrow?” 

“Of course,” Alex assures. “First thing in the morning, okay?” Liv nods, and Scott translates to Alex, giving him confirmation. 

“Okay then,” Alex finishes, and the smile is back in his voice. “Sleep well you guys.” 

“You too!” Liv exclaims, and Scott shushes her slightly, chuckling a little. 

“Bye Alex,” Scott finalizes, and Alex gives them a last goodbye before hanging up. Scott turns off Liv’s phone, putting it back on her nightstand before turning back to her. 

“There,” he says, getting her attention. “Feel better?” She nods before giving him a smile. 

“Thank you,” she says. “That was nice.” 

“I thought it might help,” he responds, smiling back, before sliding out from under her covers and giving her her bed back. He starts to walk away, but then he turns back to her with a smirk. 

“Do you need me to tuck you in?” 

“No!” she shouts immediately, scrunching her face. “I told you I’m not a baby.” Scott clicks his tongue a little. 

“I don’t know. After all that, it was hard to tell.” She glares at him and reaches for the nearest pillow, chucking it at him, but Scott sidesteps, chuckling in the process. 

“Alright, go to bed,” he finally says, stepping towards her door and opening it. “Sleep well.” 

“You too, Scott,” she responds, yawning in the process. She rolls over, facing the wall, and Scott makes sure she’s settled before making his way out, shutting the door carefully behind him and heading to his room. 

As he climbs back into bed, wrestling with his own emotions regarding what just happened, his phone lights up with a text message. Curious, he picks it up, only to see that it’s from Alex. 

_ Thank you,  _ it reads.  _ I don’t know what happened tonight, but I know you helped her with whatever it was. And you did a good job.  _ As he’s reading, another text comes through, and his eyes move to that one. 

_ I’m sorry I can’t be there more, and I know you’re confused and worried too, but we’ll talk about it, okay? Not tomorrow, but...sometime. I promise.  _

Scott stares at the messages for a minute, debating his response. He wants to yell at him, because he’s been saying things like that, and Scott still hasn't gotten answers. But he also just wants him to be okay. 

In the end, he decides on a simple “okay” before turning the screen off and flipping his phone over on his nightstand. He wraps himself in his blankets, turning on his side towards the wall and staring at it. 

Maybe “sometime” is all he can hope for. 

And, in the end, what matters most is that Liv’s okay now, in all senses of the word. 

And right now, Scott can guarantee at least that much. 

With that thought in his mind, he finally manages to close his eyes and drift into sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! I really hope you liked it! 
> 
> To keep an eye out for my other Comfortember works, subscribe to the series, and if you wanna see what else I do, check out the rest of my AO3 works! 
> 
> Otherwise, feel free to come say hi on [Tumblr!](https://kitkatwinchester.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thanks all! <3


End file.
